Compress an image to 15 KB
Reduce a signature or photo to under 15KB for an online application form. Exact size, JPG output, free, and nothing is uploaded.
Last updated
15 KB is the size exam boards, job portals and government forms most often set for a scanned signature, and sometimes for a small photo. It is very little: a phone photo is a few hundred times bigger. A signature fits easily, because it is mostly plain paper. A photo fits only once it is small, which is the size the form displays it at anyway.
What fits in 15 KB
A photograph up to about 249 × 166 pixels at high quality, or 344 × 229 at the lower quality most forms accept. That is measured on a detailed outdoor photo; a portrait against a plain wall fits larger.
A signature on white paper up to about 819 × 307 pixels, more than any form asks for.
Is 15 KB enough?
A photo on an application form, shown at about 200 × 230 pixels: yes, at the lower quality forms accept.
A profile picture at 400 × 400: not at full size; at 15 KB it comes out smaller.
A passport photo printed at 35 × 45 mm (413 × 531 pixels at 300 dpi): not at full size; at 15 KB it comes out smaller.
A photo shown across a phone screen, about 1080 × 720: not at full size; at 15 KB it comes out smaller.
A photo filling a Full HD screen, 1920 × 1080: not at full size; at 15 KB it comes out smaller.
15 KB against the sizes either side
The same photograph reaches about 249 pixels wide at 15 KB, against about 195 pixels wide at 10 KB and about 290 pixels wide at 20 KB. If the form allows more than 15 KB, the next size up is a visibly sharper picture.
Getting a signature under the limit cleanly
Sign in dark ink on plain white paper, photograph it in daylight without a shadow, and crop close around the signature. Plain white compresses to almost nothing, so the bytes go on the ink.
A grey or shadowed background is the usual reason a signature will not fit: the camera records the shading as detail, and detail costs bytes.
If the website still says the file is too big
This page counts 15 KB as 15,360 bytes. Some sites count it as 15,000, which is a little less. If yours is strict, aim for the next size down.
Questions
How do I compress an image to 15KB?
Add it to this page and press the button. The JPG quality is lowered step by step and, if that is not enough, the pixel size, and the best version under 15 KB is kept. For a typical photo that ends up about 249 pixels wide.
How many pixels is a 15KB photo?
About 249 × 166 at high quality, or 344 × 229 at a lower one, for a detailed photograph. A simpler picture fits more pixels in the same size.
Can I compress a PNG or an iPhone photo to 15KB?
Yes. PNG, HEIC and WEBP are all read and saved as JPG. To fit 15 KB, a detailed photo comes down to about 344 pixels wide at the quality forms accept; a scanned signature keeps up to 819.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. It is compressed in your browser, on your own device.